Misplaced Jealousy
by WolfGangSBD
Summary: After Nozomi helped Kotori out with her romantic endeavors, Kotori decides to pay her back by helping her sort out her own feelings. But the real question is, did Nozomi really need her help in the first place? (sequel to Advice, but can be read as standalone)


"So...what am I supposed to do with this?"

Kotori had given Nozomi a book. More specifically, a book that had no art on the cover, revealing no details about its context other than its ambiguous title. Nozomi inspected the book a bit more before glancing at the shorter girl, raising her eyebrow in the process. She just smiled back, that mysterious twinkle still present in her eyes.

"Well, I was wondering, since you helped me out with Umi-chan, I thought I can pay you back by helping you out with Eli-chan!" Kotori exclaimed hopefully. She and Nozomi had been spending some time lately talking about romance, specifically the ones blossoming within Muse.

"Hm, I suppose I can take some time to hear what this is about." Nozomi said with a giggle, no doubt at Kotori's antics. It was nice to see the indecisive girl take charge for once. "So what is this book you gave me?"

"My favorite—" Kotori started excitedly before catching herself, clearing her throat and lightly blushing with embarrassment, "I mean, a very helpful guide on how to confess." Nozomi laughed at her slip up, having a good guess on what the book was about now.

"If it's helpful, then why didn't it work with you and Umi-chan?" Nozomi teased and Kotori pouted.

"Umi-chan is one of a kind. And this book is more suited for you and Eli-chan, since the dynamics between the two characters are almost the same." Kotori answered innocently and Nozomi hummed. She grinned, thinking why not, as she clutched the book in her hands.

"Thanks Kotori-chan." Nozomi replied honestly, stepping forward to give her a hug. She smiled warmly when Kotori beamed.

"No problem!"

 _'Ah, she's so cute.'_ Nozomi thought as she looked at her with amusement.

"I'll be sure to read this by the end of the week."

"Of course, take your time! And if you're interested in reading more, just contact me!"

And contact her, she did.

* * *

Nico stared at her best friend in front of her. Well, more like glared. With the way she's been acting as of late, she seemed to be up to something.

Nozomi was more quiet. Well, not necessarily quiet. It was more like she was lost in her own world, which meant that she wasn't as nosey as usual. Well, it wasn't that bad, seeing as she hasn't washi-washied her for a while. But the fact that she had refused Eli's offer to hang out yesterday in favor for hanging out with Kotori was suspicious.

It was well known within Muse that Kotori and Umi were dating, and although the two spent most of their time together or with Honoka, it seemed like Kotori spent the rest of her time talking with Nozomi. And it was making Eli jealous.

Of course, the blonde would never let it show directly. But it showed in the way that she stuck to Nozomi as much as she could, especially during club activities and lunch.

Speaking of lunch, the bell rang and Nico was forced to snap out of her thoughts as Nozomi sat up. She eyed Nozomi suspiciously as she subtly took something out of her bag and hid it behind her lunchbox, thinking that no one saw her.

But nothing never escapes the eyes of the great Nico-Nii!

"Where are you going?" Nico asked and Nozomi turned around with that usual smile on her face.

"Why do you want to know?" Nozomi answered her question with a question, winking as she did so. Nico just rolled her eyes.

"I don't want that blonde idiot whining to me about you if you don't eat lunch with her today." Nico bit back, knowing that said blonde idiot was probably on her way to their classroom already.

"Well, I've got something I need to take care of." Nozomi said a bit distractedly and Nico looked at her with a deadpan face.

"With Kotori?" Nico asked, and it seemed like the suspicion had leaked from her tone cause Nozomi laughed.

"Yes, but not in the way you're thinking." Nozomi answered with amusement as she patted Nico's head, much to her disdain. "Besides, she's got her charming princess, Umi-chan."

"Right." Nico said with distaste, letting Nozomi go. Moments after, Eli walked into the room, lunchbox in hand.

"Hey, have you seen Nozomi?" Eli asked with a neutral face, but Nico knew better.

"Nope. Probably with Kotori." Nico replied as she took out her own lunchbox. It seemed like she would have to spend lunch with her again, not that Nico minded. Eli was a good and reliable friend once you got past that icy barrier of hers. Not to mention, her grades have gone up ever since they got closer, but that was just a perk of being friends with the cute, reliable Elichika. Not that Nico would ever admit someone other than herself was cute.

It was short, but Nico saw Eli pout at her reply. With a small frown, she sat down in Nozomi's seat and put her lunch on Nico's table. Before she could speak, some of Nico's friends asked if they could eat with them, but Nico shook her head, shooting them an apologetic smile.

"Sorry, I kinda need to talk to Eli alone today." Nico admitted but they didn't take it to heart.

"It's fine! We were going to eat in the courtyard today since it's such a nice day, but we hope everything works out!" One of the girls said and the two waved at them as they left the class. Once they left, Eli proceeded to open her bento and released her frustrations to Nico.

"Those two have been spending a lot of time together."

"I know."

"I wonder what they're doing right now."

"Probably talking about some shared interest."

"Well, Nozomi can talk to me about anything, so I don't understand why—"

Nico let Eli whine, thinking about how different the blonde had become. It was amusing, if not cute. Kind of reminded her about a certain redhead whenever she didn't get what she wanted.

"You know," Nico interrupted Eli's speech, making her look at her with her undivided attention when she realized that Nico might have had some valuable information, "I saw her hide a book behind her lunchbox before going to see Kotori."

"Is that so?" Eli asked with a frown. Nico nodded and continued eating. "Were you able to see the cover?"

"Nope." Nico answered after she swallowed. "Maybe you should ask her about it."

She saw Eli grip her chopsticks tightly, and wondered if she should have told her what she had seen after all. But then again, if Nico never told her, Eli wouldn't have a reason to confront Nozomi and their relationship would stay the same.

It's probably not that serious, Nico thought as she continued eating and tried to distract Eli with other topics. She guessed she owed it to Nozomi for giving her some advice with Maki.

Nico suppressed a grin when she felt her phone vibrate for the 5th time that day. Nozomi was right; playing hard to get really was the best method for oblivious idiots. After she and Maki had gotten together, they resumed talking frequently via text seeing as how they were in different years. She picked the phone up and smiled gently, sending the redhead a quick reply. After that, she sighed and wondered if her two best friends could fix things as soon as possible. So, she decided to try and cheer Eli up a little.

"Hey, did you hear the story of how Honoka burned her tongue?"

"No? That happened?"

"Well, so what happened was…"

And so, Nico recalled many moments of her adventures with Honoka and Rin, managing to get Eli to laugh and smile, even if it was just for a little bit. She shot Eli a reassuring smile whenever she saw her feeling a bit down, and for the rest of the lunch, she tried her best to be a good friend. After all, Eli would do the same for her, and Nico would be damned if she left her best friend down in the dumps.

* * *

Eli sighed for the nth time that day, walking to the student council room with a set goal in mind.

She knew she shouldn't be jealous—of Kotori of all people—but she couldn't help it. She guessed she was used to having Nozomi by her side after all these years. With another sigh, she opened the door to the student council room only to stop from opening it all the way when she saw Nozomi hunched over something.

Trying to be as quiet as possible, she peeked from the small crack of the door. She saw Nozomi reading something, most likely the book Nico had mentioned to her during lunch. Suppressing the pout that was forming on her face, she managed to silently get into the room and somehow make it to where Nozomi was. She'd like to think that it was because she would make a good thief if she wanted to, but it was most likely because Nozomi was immersed with the book she was reading.

"So that's what's been taking up your time with me." Eli softly spoke, feeling a smile form on her face when Nozomi abruptly looked up, obviously startled. It wasn't an expression she saw too often and Eli often prided herself for being one of the few to be able to evoke such a reaction from her. However, she remembered that Nozomi was avoiding her, so her smile turned into a pout. "Really? Reading books with Kotori? Is it _that_ important?"

Nozomi laughed at her as she closed the book, "I didn't know Elichi could be so whiny." Eli just grumbled something and took the seat next to her, hiding her face on her shoulder, and Nozomi giggled once more. "And clingy too."

"I am not clingy." Eli denied as she backed up slightly and Nozomi just shook her head, amused at her reactions.

"Sure you aren't."

"I'm really not!"

"Uh huh."

"Nozomi~" Eli whined and Nozomi giggled, moving to pet her head.

"Yes, yes. Now, would you like to see what I was reading?" Nozomi asked, the amusement evident on her face as Eli's attention turned to the book. With an expertly hidden grin, she opened the book to the page she was on and showed it to Eli.

Nozomi wished she had her phone within reach because Eli turned red faster than Rin's tendencies to say nya.

"W-Why are we kissing in a book?!" Eli exclaimed with embarrassment and Nozomi laughed.

"Oh, don't worry Elichi. Kotori-chan told me that it isn't "not safe for work". Something about how weird it would be to see her two friends naked." Nozomi replied with a grin and Eli, who was usually a sucker for romance, covered her eyes. "But I must say, these aren't very accurate descriptions, if you know what I mean."

"Nozomi!" Eli exclaimed, her face being the very embodiment of embarrassment, and Nozomi laughed once again. But then Eli connected the dots and immediately asked, "Wait, why were you talking to Kotori about us?"

"Because she seems to think that we make a good couple." Nozomi said as she leaned in with a grin, "And I wholeheartedly agree."

Nozomi pecked Eli on the cheek, who just blinked before turning even more red. She playfully pushed a laughing Nozomi away and turned around, pouting all the while.

"So you avoided me because you were talking to Kotori about us?"

"Yeah."

"So this entire time, you've been hanging out with Kotori discussing the content of these books?"

"Mhm."

"Even though we're dating already?"

At hearing the whine in her voice, Nozomi gently eased Eli to look at her and said, "Elichi…"

"I mean, it's fine and all but you didn't have to leave me in the dark about it." Eli continued, the small frown seemingly stuck on her face. Nozomi tried to refrain from smiling and instead held Eli's hands.

"I know, and I'm sorry." Nozomi murmured as she leaned in, "I wanted to see how you'd react."

"Well then now you know not to leave me like that." Eli whispered as she moved closer and pressed her lips against Nozomi's.

Playing hard to get really does work for oblivious idiots, Nozomi thought as she smiled into the kiss.

* * *

"So Eli-chan found out?"

"Mhm."

"She wasn't angry, was she?"

"Nope."

"Then what was her reaction?"

"Let's just say she also wholeheartedly agreed with what the book said." Nozomi said with a twinkle in her eyes, "After all, we've been dating for a couple of months now."

"Eh, no way!" Kotori exclaimed with a blush on her face, no doubt because of all the times she had talked with Nozomi on how she could confess to Eli. "So that means this whole time—"

"Aha, sorry Kotori-chan, but I wanted to play along and see what you had in store for us. The books you lent me also gave me some ideas on how to spice up our romantic life." Nozomi admitted with a cheeky grin and wink, "But I also wanted to see how Elichi would react if I started hanging out with other people a lot more than I usually do with her."

"So that's why she seemed grumpier than usual."

"Yep."

"Mou, Nozomi-chan, why didn't you tell me? Now I'm embarrassed."

"Aw, sorry Kotori-chan. Tell you what, how about I give you some advice on how to loosen Umi-chan up a bit when it comes to romance to make it even."

"Really?"

"Of course. Now, here's what you have to do…"

* * *

 _Somewhere in the school_

Umi sneezed and shuddered lightly.

 _'Why do I feel like something bad is going to happen?'_ Umi thought as she listened to Eli and Maki talking before shrugging it off.

If only she knew what Nozomi was talking to Kotori about. Poor, poor Umi and her poor, poor heart.


End file.
